Generally calls are originated from pay stations upon the deposit of coins and the dialing of the called customer's directory number. The calling customer makes an initial deposit of coins to pay for a prescribed talking period. The call is then timed and, if the parties are still talking after the initial period, overtime charges are computed and assessed against the calling coin station.
Of course, services are available for making credit card and collect calls from a station and for billing a call to a third party's directory number. The party making these calls must indicate that the call is a special service call at the outset and, generally, an attendant intervenes to verify if the designated party will accept the charges for third party and collect calls.
It has been recognized that certain business establishments receive numerous incoming calls and may wish to accept a portion of the charges for these calls in order to promote good business relationships. For example, a business customer may receive many inquiries from clients who call from coin stations. The business customer may decide that the initial cost for the call should be borne by the calling party. If, however, the call is put on "hold" or the call is prolonged while the client's inquiry is being processed, the business customer may wish to accept the overtime charges so as not to irritate his client.
Accordingly, a need exists for an arrangement for automatically apportioning charges for calls between the calling and called customers while the call is in progress.